Akasha 4 - Earth (3 page)

A group of four sat in the middle of
the camp, barely recognizable from when Shawn last saw them. They
were much thinner, and either had too much or too little
hair.

"Where's the fifth?" Shawn asked,
approaching the group.

They all hopped to their
feet.

The one with a beard hanging past his
chin, spoke up, "Went overboard in the Pacific."

Another coughed.

There was probably more to the story
but Shawn didn't care to hear it. "And the bodies?"

"Delivered."

Kaitlyn's Akasha had caused plenty of
casualties; some on her side. Her infamous black-braided friend was
one of them. The body of Ahi, along with those of several fellow
Easter Islanders, had been collected before The Seven could claim
them.

Shawn crossed his arms and narrowed
his eyes. "I'll know if you're lying to me."

One of the women walked up to Shawn
and placed a bag in his hands.

He opened it and several rocks fell
out into his palm.

"Hardened lava from the caves," she
explained.

Shawn closed his fist around the
rocks, squeezing. Energy emanated from the rocks, causing his whole
arm to tingle. He nodded, put the rocks back in the bag and asked,
"Anything else?"

"There's more in our trailer." The man
gestured to a homemade, two-wheeled contraption hitched to the back
of a well-used bike.

Shawn nodded but didn't inspect. "What
did they do with the bodies?"

Procuring the formaldehyde and finding
someone that could embalm the bodies had taken time and resources
One Less could have put to better use elsewhere, but Shawn had a
list. A list that Ahi herself said must be addressed before Shawn
could obtain Akasha. Shawn figured the best he could do to make
amends was send the bodies back to their homeland so they could be
honored in whatever traditions the islanders had.

"Burned the three Fires, gave the Air
a sky funeral."

Shawn snorted. "We could've done
that."

"Made us stay until the body had been
picked clean by birds." The hairy man laughed. "The next morning I
found a dozen dead seagulls on the shore. I tried to tell them
about the formaldehyde, but they insisted."

Shawn laughed with him.

David stepped up. "Where do you want
them? We could use a few more on kitchen duty."

The group groaned.

"Get them checked out by the doc
first." Shawn turned to the group. "Then to the kitchens for the
next month. The work isn't very physical and you get first dibs on
food. You all could use it." As Shawn turned to walk away he nodded
toward the hairy man. "Except you – you're with me."

The man followed.

"You were new to One Less – right
before Mammoth Cave, if I remember. What was your name?"

"Clay." The hairy man had to crane his
neck all the way back to look at Shawn.

"That's right. The Earth." Shawn
turned to make sure they were far enough from the group. "I'm going
into town on a few errands. I could use an Earth. You in?" Shawn
asked.

Clay bent down, picked up a handful of
dirt and sniffed it. "Not good soil; have you managed to grow much
here?"

Shawn smiled. "We've learned a few
tricks. So, what do you say?"

"My butt may not be able to handle the
bike seat so soon."

Shawn laughed. "We're not going until
next week. Until then, try to stay off the bike." Shawn slapped
Clay hard on the back and left, barking more orders at
David.

Clay watched them walk away, swatting
at the gnats that apparently found his beard irresistible. Despite
the dry heat, and the undesirable human company, Clay liked it
here. He felt at home with the bitter smell of salt in the air, so
thick you could almost taste it. Clay had been one of a few chosen
to infiltrate One Less during the battle at Mammoth Cave. It was
easy enough in the aftermath of the blast, but he had had no chance
to let Kaitlyn or Susan know he survived.

Then he'd been chosen for the Easter
Island mission. It took them a year and a half to deliver the
bodies and make their way home, much of it done over water. After
losing his sister during the battle, he didn't much care what
happened to him. But several months on the water was pure torture;
claustrophobic, even – at least for an Earth.

Clay walked closer to the adobe
buildings at Fielding Garr Ranch. It at least had a freshwater
spring. But being in camp less than a day, Clay had already heard
rumors it was close to drying up. The Waters were all worked up
about it. Clay walked past the water storage area, flipping open
drains on the large barrels.

There was no way The Seven was going
to make it past Shawn's fortified seven mile narrow causeway
leading onto the island. Clay would just have to force One Less to
migrate off the island, and animals always followed fresh
water.

Chapter
5

Good Cover

"Micah isn't here – he's gone ahead,
to clear the path for you."

"Clear the path to where?" I asked,
ducking automatically as another boom sounded off in the
distance.

"To Shawn."

The President's words rang through my
head, merging with the percussion of the blast, still bouncing
around in my brain. My head felt like it was about to
explode.

"Sir – I must insist we get moving."
The Secret Service agent's words barely registered. I couldn't snap
out of my shock until I saw the President's back, and my only link
to Micah, disappearing into the smoke and flames. I ran after
him.

The three Secret Service
agents that surrounded him glanced back, but ultimately ignored me.
Apparently I wasn't the biggest threat out here. Now
that
was a scary
notion.

Another blast, closer this time, shook
the ground.

"What is it?" I asked.

All four men were already breathing
hard. Over a year underground would do that to you.

"Had a security breach," said the
President. "It was an insider – he has bombs rigged to go off all
over the place."

I shivered, thinking of how close we
had come to entering the facility. We might have set one off
ourselves. I thought of Bee and Susan, slowing down, debating if I
should change my route and head for the hotel. Alex would've gone
for them. That was our hard and fast rule whenever the three of us
were separated. The closest to Bee go for her while the other
eliminates the threat. The President wasn't the threat, but he
could lead me to Micah. One thing at a time.

"Shawn is in Utah – Antelope Island,
according to our reports. We have no reason to think he will leave
anytime soon," the President spoke to me, stopping his forward
momentum.

"Sir, please." One of the secret
service agents pulled on his arm.

The President ignored him. "Take the
rivers. Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, Platte. Micah is drawing One
Less away from the path as he goes."

"Sorry – we cannot wait any longer,"
stated the agent. He hooked his arm under the President's armpit.
Another copied on the other side. The President's toes barely
touched the ground.

"Oh, for Pete's sake – put me
down!"

The President's orders were ignored.
He looked at me over his shoulder. "Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri,
Platte!"

"Upper or lower Platte?" I yelled
back.

A series of bullets, aimed at the
ground just in front of me, was my only answer. The agent's message
was clear, our conversation was over.

I threw up my hands. No argument there
– I had better things to get to…like Bee.

"Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, Platte,"
I told myself as I shifted directions and ran for the hotel. Sink
holes were everywhere, many of them spewing flames and smoke.
"Ohio." I leaped over a fallen tree. "Mississippi." I darted around
a wall of fire, using water and air to battle it back. "Missouri."
I fell to the ground, flattening my body as debris from another
blast flew just over my head. The taste of burnt grass and wet
earth filled my mouth. I spit. "Platte."

Eliminate the threat – that was my
job. But there were no people; just a lot of explosions and fire.
What was I going to do, take away oxygen? I paused before picking
myself off the ground. I'd battled wildfires before, and used
energy to fix oxygen levels. I just might be able to contain the
entire area – and stop the blasts. But to what end? Who was the
security breach? Briefly, I wondered if it was me. Maybe the
perimeter alarms weren't all turned off, like Alex said. I
shrugged.

Better to let the attack
continue. Flames are good cover.

After an hour of running a convoluted
route, I sat in a treetop studying the hotel. It was still intact.
People milled about on the lawn, chattering about the explosions. I
couldn't tell if Susan was one of them. They all held candles – the
lucky few with working batteries had flashlights.

I turned the other direction, toward
the bunker, or what was left of it, to search for potential
followers. My binoculars would've come in handy, but I had left
them in my bag, halfway down the tree.

Now, we wait.

Every few minutes I called
out, the shrill
whoit, whoit, whoit
whistle imitating a Cardinal. It had taken Alex
two months to teach me that. Bee learned it before I did. I waited
each time for the response, but got nothing.

Where are they?

Images of One Less snatching up Bee
assaulted me. I shook my head.

Don't do that; not
yet.

I whistled again. Still no
response.

That does it.

I worked my way down the tree, as
silently as possible. It was difficult, considering I had to go
back up for my forgotten backpack. When I hit the ground for a
second time, cursing about the bag being the death of me, a noise
made me jump.

"Kaitlyn!"

"Argh!" I yelled, then clamped my hand
over my mouth and ducked down.

The bushes shook and Alex
whisper-shouted, "Unless you're using the bathroom, quit squatting
and get over here."

I crawled over, cracking twigs as I
went.

Once I joined him under the bush he
said, "You'd make a terrible sniper."

"I'm more of a machine-gun type of
girl." I looked around. "Where's Bee?"

"She's safe with Susan, hiding about
two clicks away."

"I told you before, I don't know what
in the hell a 'click' is."

He rolled his eyes. "They’re a little
over a mile, further south from here."

I popped my head out, looking in that
direction as if I could see them.

Alex pulled me back down. "You were
being trailed."

"One Less or Secret
Service?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, confused.
"I'm not sure. I had to circle a few times to be sure of their
position."

Ah, so he was using me as bait while I
whistled away like a jackass.

"Come on, they've dug in around you
but we should be able to get out this way." He headed
north.

"But Susan and Bee are south," I
said.

"We'll make a loop – now, no more
talking until I say. And step where I step."

I nodded, moved forward, and my heavy
foot landed directly on a dried up pinecone. Alex paused to turn
back and look at me with a raised eyebrow. I shooed him on, annoyed
enough with myself for the both of us.

As we walked, adrenaline wore off and
fatigue set in. I fought to keep my eyes open and fixed in between
his shoulder blades. After another hour, things were beginning to
get hazy. If I wasn't careful, I was going to run straight into a
tree. That definitely wouldn't be very sniper-like.

Clouds moved in, covering the moon and
extinguishing the only light we had. I lost him in a matter of
seconds. "Alex?"

"Over here," he called.

I followed the voice to a row of trees
and breathed a sigh of relief when I could make out his
silhouette.

"There." He gestured to a clearing
with a nod of his head.

The clouds dissipated and what
probably used to be a well-maintained property came into view. The
house was a shell, the upper floors burnt down. We'd been in houses
like that before. Probably nothing remained. People got crafty when
they became desperate. I'd seen pieces of staircase banisters
whittled into weapons and copper piping and shower drains used in a
homemade – literally – water filtration system.

"Not the house," Alex said. "The
shed."

My eyes drifted to the edge of the
yard. There was a small shack covered in vines. "You left them in
there?" I squeaked, emerging from our hidden spot.

Alex followed me into the clearing.
"What's the matter?"